Area roundup: Pella wins team title at Bill Van Horn Invite

Dec. 18—Boys Wrestling

Pella wins Bill Van Horn Invitational

PELLA — Oskaloosa was among the nine teams competing at the annual Bill Van Horn Invitation on Saturday in Pella as the Dutch ended up winning their home tournament while the Indians finished eighth.

Pella was led by seven top three finishes on the day including a pair of champions. T.R. Putz (150) was 4-0 with two pins on his way to the title while Jackson Van Kley (190) went 3-0 with two pins and a major.

Damion Clark (132), Rex Rhamy (144) and Kieran Van Voorst (215) all made the finals but fell in the title match to earn second place finishes while Collin Sundby (120) and Kaiden Hol (285) both battled to third place finishes for the Dutch.

The Indians finished with three top three finishers on the day with Ty Lorentzen (113) and JT Baker (157) both highlighting with first place finishes. Both finished 3-0 on the day with two pins. Kaiden Parker added a third place finish at 132 after going 3-1 with two pins, a major and his lone loss being a 3-2 decision to Pella's Clark in the semifinals.

Oskaloosa wrestles at Newton on Thursday while Pella goes to Norwalk also on Thursday.

Team standings

1. Pella (197), 2. South Tama (191.5), 3. Knoxville (165), 4. EBF (124), 5. North Mahaska (114), 6. Davis County (113), 7. Boone (112.5), 8. Oskaloosa (91), 9. Des Moines North (44)

Girls Wrestling

Lady Dutch wrap 2023 at CR Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Lady Dutch finished off their 2023 portion of their schedule with a trip to Cedar Rapids Prairie on Saturday. It was a busy day on the mats as Pella finished 10th out of 27 teams in attendance.

"This tournament pushed us a little bit, which is exactly what we hoped for," Pella head coach Adam Hale said. "We have a lot of wrestlers who are making great strides, so we got to see them against some higher level competition from a different part of the state. Getting to see different people gave us the opportunity to see different areas to improve upon as we prepare for the nearing postseason. Not only did we get to come home with those areas to improve, but we also got to bring home three top-three finishers from a tough field."

Pella sported a team of 12 girls at the tournament, their most they've had so far in their young program history. Champions on the day included Serenity Turner (105) and Emmalee Spurgeon (155), who both went 4-0 with four pins. Elaine Babock added a third place finish after going 2-1 while Cami Smith was second at 235 after going 3-1.

"As a team, there are definitely some matches and moments that we'd like another shot at, but overall the effort was again collectively good by our team," Hale said. "We've got some fun stuff planned over break with shaking up some practices, getting to go roll at Pella Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, joining other teams to practice, and, of course, getting to see our administrators run with us during our Indy 500 sponsored by Pella Motors. We're looking forward to the back half of our season and continuing to wrestle as hard as we know how while striving to improve."

Pella will be back in action in January.

Boys Basketball

Dallas Center-Grimes 72, Oskaloosa 47

GRIMES — Oskaloosa traveled to face the undefeated Mustangs of Dallas Center-Grimes on Friday and ended up falling 72-47.

DCG took a big lead early and didn't turn back as they led 22-7 after the first quarter and pushed their lead to 24 at the half before finishing it off in the second half.

DCG shot 63.8% from the field including 23-of-28 inside the arc. Osky ended up shooting 38.8% from the floor and 5-of-17 from three.

Max Roach led the Indians with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists while Carter Blanco added eight points and two rebounds.

Oskaloosa (2-5, 1-2 LHC) hits the road to face Ottumwa (2-2) on Monday at 7:45 p.m.

Girls Basketball

No. 1 (4A) Dallas Center-Grimes 49, Oskaloosa 32

GRIMES — Oskaloosa made their way up to Dallas Center-Grimes on Friday to face the top-ranked Mustangs. The Indians hung around for a good portion of the contest before ultimately losing by 16.

DCG leads the series 21-0 since 2014 but they were getting a good challenge from the Indians early with Osky within three after the first quarter and six at the half. The Mustangs continued to build their lead in the second half and were able to keep Oskaloosa's offense from going on a run.

DCG shot 37.5% from the field and 5-of-20 from three while Osky shot a similar 38.9% from the floor and 2-of-7 from three. The difference came in the turnover margin where the Mustangs forced 28 Indian giveaways.

Dasia Foster led Osky with a double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Oskaloosa (6-2, 1-1 LHC) finishes off 2023 with a trip to Pella (6-2, 1-1 LHC) on Friday.

Bowling

Oskaloosa splits triangular

OSKALOOSA — Oskaloosa played host to Knoxville and Davis County on Saturday earning a couple of splits. The Indians boys and girls both earned wins over Knoxville while both falling to Davis County.

The Osky girls, who had their season-best pin total of 2355, were led by Sidney Thompson who bowled her highest two-game series of the season with a 453 that included games of 243 and 214. Regan Abrahamson was next best with a 306 series.

The Osky boys were paced by Trey VanWyk, who had a two-game series of 483 and a high game of 268. Jacob Schutz followed with a 412 series with freshman Kyle McHawes not far behind with a 397 series.

Oskaloosa is off until January.

Pella swept by Norwalk

NEWTON — Both Pella bowling teams dropped close duals to Norwalk on Saturday as the girls fell 2129-2086 while the boys lost 2740-2601.

Xavia Walker led the Lady Dutch with a 305 series and a high game of 159 while McKenna Salvador wasn't far behind with a 295 series.

The Pella boys were led by Carter Failor's 377 series while Treyson Williams and Zander Beckey both rolled series' of 369.

Pella is off until January.

Pella Christian falls to Ballard

OSKALOOSA — The Pella Christian bowling teams both fell to Ballard on Saturday. The girls fell 2161-1640 while the boys lost 2872-1800.

Caitlin Veenstra led the PC girls with a 299 series and a high game of 156 while Macy Van Der Hart added a 227 series.

The Eagle boys were led by Alex VanGorp's 340 series and 179 high game. Andrew Van Kooten followed with a 266 series.

Pella Christian returns to the lanes in January.

Colin Peters can be reached at 641-672-2581, by email at cpeters@oskyherald.com or on Twitter @ColinPetersOH.